Leading Ladies

Professor Alison Pullen explains how the pandemic has proved that embracing more feminine leadership styles could be exactly what the world needs.

- Saskia Tillers

When COVID-19 first seized the globe in March 2020, world leaders found themselves confronted with a previously unknown threat. Within the initial months, those in charge made rapid decisions and as a result, their country either flourished or floundered.

However, as political leaders learned to navigate this uncharted territory, it became increasingly clear that countries with the lowest transmission and death rates all had something in common: they had women calling the shots.

From President Tsai Ing-Wen in Taiwan and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, to Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, Finland’s Sanna Marin and New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, these female-led nations have continued to demonstrate to the world that when it comes to a crisis, they know what they’re doing.

From offering tangible support and containing the virus through extensive testing, contact tracing and isolation measures, their tactics have ensured the safety and health of their citizens.

A research paper published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research and the World Economic Forum analysed 194 countries in August 2020 and found that those led by women had “systematically and significantly better” COVID-19 outcomes.

Supriya Garikipati, a developmental economist at Liverpool University involved in the study, says the results “clearly indicate that women leaders reacted more quickly and decisively in the face of potential fatalities”.

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